Grandkids!
by spookisapuppy
Summary: In this story Will has three kids, and it's basically about them and Halt, with a few other characters thrown in. This summary is terrible, but read anyway!
1. Story Time

_Note_: _So, this is my first shot at writing fan fiction. This story is basically fluff, but future chapters are going to be a lot more exciting, and a lot longer. Please review! Tell me if you like it, or if you don't and please tell me what I should work on! Oh, and just to be clear, Will married Alyss and has three kids, twins: a boy named Lucas and a girl named Hazel, they're six, and Elanor, a girl who is three. _

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Will's children adored Halt. They practically worshiped the ground he walked on. And Halt, the famous ranger, who had a reputation for being grim and just a bit scary, as it turned out, was not immune to hero worship.

The children, Elanor, who was three, and twins named Lucas and Hazel, aged six, were currently having "story time" with Halt. Halt liked to use these opportunities to tell the children stories about Will as a boy. Not the wonderful tales of his courage and skill that had made him famous throughout the kingdom, but the funny and generally embarrassing ones.

"And then he spent the whole night up in the tree." Halt said, bringing a chorus of laughter from the three children. Hazel turned toward Will, who was adding another log to the fire.

"Daddy, is it true? Did you really sleep the whole night up there?" Will turned and smiled at her, "Well, sleep is a rather strong word for it, wouldn't you agree Halt?" Halt rose an eyebrow at Will as all attention turned back to him.

"I wouldn't know Will. Once that terrible noise had stopped I slept like a baby." The children once again broke out into giggles. Elanor scooted over into Halt's lap and stared up at his face.

"Papa, I don't have to sleep in a tree, do I?" Her brown eyes were worried. The little girl had a toy flute, that, Halt had to admit, was a lot more annoying than Will's mandala had ever been. He stood up, scooping Elanor up with him.

He smiled at her, "Of course not Ellie, you're a much better musician than your dad was then." All worry now gone from the little girl's face, she returned the smile.

Will spoke up again, "Well, come one kids, it's about time to get going." His statement was met with disappointed groans all around. "Oh, come on, none of that, we can come back tomorrow. Halt needs to get some sleep."

Halt turned to glare at Will, "Oh, I do? I'm just so old and decrepit that I can't even keep my eyes open?" Elanor spoke up before Will had a chance to talk himself out of the situation.

"You're not old Papa."

Lucas piped up too, "Yeah, you're not old. Daddy's old." All three kids started giggling, even Halt cracked a smile. Will, however, had a slightly indignant look on his face.

"Me? Really? Do you even know what "grandpa" means Lucas?"

Hazel turned big brown eyes on him, "It's okay Daddy, it's not your fault."

Halt spoke again, "Yes Will. It's not your fault. You just don't age as gracefully as I do." After a moment of internal debate Will decided to give up on this particular argument.

"Well, we still need to go home. Come on guys, we can come back and let Halt corrupt you further tomorrow." Halt set Elanor back down on the floor.

"It's not corruption, it's a learning experience." Will gave Halt his best impression of Halt's withering look.

"Well, they can have more "learning experiences" in the morning. Come on, let's go." The kids, faces crestfallen, moved to the door.

"Bye Grandpa."

"Bye Papa." Will shooed them all through the door.

"See ya Halt."

"All right, be careful on the way back."

"I will."

The door closed and Halt was left alone in the apartment that he shared with Pauline, who was currently on a mission in another fief. He looked around. His living room was a mess, forgotten toys and various other items were strewn all about the floor. He remembered a time, not too long ago, when his apartment had been tidy, downright organized. Apparently, grandchildren, even adopted grandchildren, changed all that. He decided to leave the mess for the morning, and sat down in his favorite old chair. And he thought to himself that those kids were well worth the mess they left behind.

_End_

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_So, there it is. If you liked it then review! And if you didn't like it, review! I promise future chapters will be better! Oh, and in case you don't get why Ellie calls Halt "papa", it's what my nephew calls my dad, kind of a cute form of grandpa.  
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	2. Cake

_So, this is just fluff. I don't know why, but I really like the idea of Halt as a grandparent. Anyway, this isn't the best thing I've ever written, but it's not the worst either, so I decided to put it up. Oh, and Will and Alyss are still married (obviously), Halt and Pauline are married and living in the castle. And Halt is so out of character in this it drives me crazy. But I couldn't seem to fix it, so I left it. Oh, and Will's other two kids are conveniently missing in this one, mostly cause I like Ellie better than them._

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Castle Redmont was in a frenzy. King Duncan and the Princess Cassandra were coming to visit. Amidst all the activity, no one noticed the two unmoving figures stationed in a shadowy corner outside of the kitchen.

"Papa?" Halt looked down at the little girl standing beside him.

"Yes Ellie?"

"How come everybody's acting all crazy?" Halt smiled beneath the cowl of his ranger cloak.

"Well, the King is coming to visit. We're having a feast, and they're trying to get ready." Elanor, Will's small daughter, nodded.

"Oh." They watched the chaotic scene for a few moments more. "What's a feast?"

"It's like a big dinner," Halt paused as a man ran past balancing a tray full of pastries, "And a party, all thrown together."

"A party? Do I get to come?"

"I'm not sure. You'll have to ask your mom and dad." Elanor's face fell and she looked down at her shoes. Recognizing the first stages of a full fledged pout when he saw one, Halt hurried to interrupt the process. "Do you like cake Ellie?" He asked, knowing full well that his granddaughter, like most children, had a weakness for sweets. She looked up, eyes shining, and nodded. "Okay, well can you promise me that you'll stay right here for a few minutes?" She nodded. "Good. I'll be right back."

And so saying, Halt shoved the cowl back from his head and removed his cloak, setting it carefully on the floor. He leaned his longbow against the wall, along with his quiver, giving Elanor strict instructions not to touch either of them. He looked around for a moment before spotting an empty tray. Snatching it up quickly, Halt walked purposefully through the doors of the kitchen. A ranger would draw attention, but a man dressed in a green shirt and brown leggings and holding a tray would not. Quickly making his way through the kitchen while dodging various platters, plates, flying bits of food, and what seemed like a thousand people, Halt saw his objective. Ditching the tray, Halt picked up the platter of warm iced cakes.

He was just about to reach the doors when a cry came from behind him. "Hey! Stop thief!" _Not good_, Halt thought to himself. He dashed through the doors and into the small alcove where Ellie was waiting. Seeing her grandfather holding a giant plate of pastries had sent the small into a complete state of shock. Standing quickly, she stared longingly at the cakes as Halt hurried to throw his cloak around his shoulders. "Are those for me?"

"Maybe. It all depends on how quiet you can be." Just then, three men burst out of the kitchen, one heading in each direction. Halt hurried to shove the platter further back into the shadows, and pulled the cowl of his cloak over his head.

"Ranger! Have you seen a man carrying any pastries go by?" Halt recognized Master Chubb, Redmont's head chef. "... a thief." Halt caught the last of his words and realized with a start that he hadn't been paying any attention. He looked up at Chubb's face, which was angry and quite red. Then his gaze lowered to the ever present ladle in the man's hand. Halt remembered seeing Will in just such a situation. Will had admitted to stealing and been whapped on the head with that very same wooden ladle. That was when Halt had decided to make the boy his apprentice. And now, in the same situation, Halt realized how very hard it must have been for the boy to tell the truth. Straitening, Halt stared right up at Chubb's face, met his gaze. And lied.

"No. Can't say that I have." Chubb nodded, "Well, tell me if you do." Halt nodded.

Chubb ran on down the hallway. Halt let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders sagging. Luckily, Elanor had kept completely silent through the whole ordeal. Now she broke her silence.

"Was I quiet enough Papa?" Halt smiled.

"Yes. Now, come on little girl, we need to get out of here. And fast." Halt bent down and picked up the platter, then led the way up to his apartment. Pauline heard the door open and looked up from the book she was reading as her husband walked inside, holding a tray full of cakes. "Wow, Halt. Where'd you get all those?" Halt continued walking into their small kitchen, set the tray on the counter and started rummaging through the cabinets.

"A ranger never tells his secrets, Pauline." Finding a basket, Halt carefully stacked several of the cakes inside, along with a few apples and a container of water. Emerging from the kitchen, Halt stopped to kiss his wife.

"Well, you're in a good mood. Where are you going?"

"Ellie and I are going on a picnic." Pauline knew that there had to be more to this story, but decided it was best to let it go for now.

"Well, have fun. And make sure you're back in time for the feast."

"I will be. Don't worry." And so saying, he made his escape back into the hall, where Elanor was waiting. "Come on Ellie, let's go."

"Okay." And Halt led the way down the stairs and outside to the castle grounds, and to the stables, where Abelard was waiting. He snorted a greeting at his master as Halt put on his saddle. He carefully set Elanor down on Abelard's back before swinging up into the saddle himself. Elanor twisted to look at her grandfather.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"I like surprises."

"Good." Conversation stopped for awhile as Abelard picked his way through the crowds inside the castle walls. Once outside, however, Elanor thought of a thousand and one questions that needed answers. Halt answered each one quite patiently, unusual behavior in the grizzled ranger. Upon reaching the stream that ran through the fields, Halt stopped Abelard and hopped down from the saddle. Then he lifted Elanor down, who was holding the basketful of cakes.

"Now can I have some?" Halt nodded. He opened the basket and brought out two cakes, along with an apple for Abelard. Then Halt and Elanor proceeded to have one of the most pleasant afternoons that either of them could remember.

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Will was furious. He'd looked all through Castle Redmont, only to find his mentor and smallest daughter lying in the grass next to the river. He decided to play a slight trick on Halt. Just to teach him not to disappear in the middle of very important days. He dismounted from Tug a pretty fair distance away, pulled up the cowl of his cloak and disappeared into the trees.

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"It's a horse." Elanor pointed up at the sky. "See? He's running." Halt squinted up at the cloud.

"Hmmm... I suppose it could be a horse. I was thinking a dragon."

"No, Papa. Dragons are too scary."

"Well, it's a nice dragon." Halt raised his voice, "Oh, and Will? Yes, I do realize that I'm supposed to be at the castle right now. Yes, it is a very important party, and as one of the king's rangers, not to mention friends, of course I realize that I have to come. I know that I can't go around disappearing for the day, and taking your daughter with me. And I know that you had to spend all day looking for me. So, if it makes you feel better, I won't do it again." he paused for a moment, "But no promises." Will gave up trying to hide and walked out from the cover of the trees, mouth open in shock. Halt, without even looking back, spoke again, "Now wipe that ridiculous look off your face and get going, we have a party to get to." Elanor started giggling as both figures got up from the ground. She ran toward Will.

"Hi Daddy! Do I get to go to the party too?" Will couldn't keep up his foul mood anymore, and simply stared at Halt.

"I don't know how you do that Halt. But you're right-"

"I'm always right," Halt interrupted.

Will gave him a slightly exasperated look. "Could we just get to the party now?"

"Certainly."

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Later that night, Duncan, King of Araluen, sat staring in amazement. Here was this small girl of four years old, and she had the foremost Ranger in the kingdom wrapped around her little finger. He watched as Halt scooped her up in his arms and whispered something in her ear. The little girl dissolved into laughter. Duncan smiled at the sight. He was slightly bemused by it all. Duncan had found out on several occasions just how troublesome, argumentative, and stubborn Halt could be. And yet, he seemed perfectly content, happy even, to follow wherever his granddaughter chose to lead. He wondered if he would ever be the same way. He glanced over at the laughing forms of Horace, one of the foremost knights in the kingdom, and his daughter, Princess Cassandra. He took in the sight of her swollen pregnant belly and thought that it wouldn't be too long before he found out.

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_So, there it is. I hope you liked it. Oh, and just to be clear, Horace and Cassandra got married. Please REVIEW!!! Oh, and one more thing, I deleted that other chapter, Fetch, because I couldn't figure out where to go with it. Anyway, REVIEW! :P_


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